Countdown to Zero (2010)
80%RT Audience Score: 72%
Awards & Nominations: NA
Countdown to Zero is more genuinely frightening than many horror movies — and more soberly enlightening than the average documentary
Countdown to Zero is like a horror movie, but instead of a masked killer, it’s the threat of nuclear war that’s lurking around every corner. The film does a great job of reminding us that just because we don’t hear about it in the news every day, the danger is still very real. It’s a sobering reminder that we need to work together to prevent a catastrophic event that could change the world as we know it. Plus, it’s got some pretty cool graphics and animations to keep you engaged.
Production Company(ies)
Paramount Pictures, Dreamworks Pictures, Amblin Entertainment,
Distributor
Magnolia Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Korova Studios, Los Angeles, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
2015
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:NA
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Runtime:1h 30m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jul 23, 2010 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 25, 2010
Genre(s)
Documentary
Keyword(s)
Countdown to Zero, PG, documentary, Lucy Walker, Lawrence Bender, Gary Oldman, reviewed by Derek Malcolm, Antonia Quirke, Anthony Quinn, Peter Bradshaw, David Gritten, Jonathan Crocker, Sr Rose Pacatte, Roe McDermott, Ed Whitfield, Amber Wilkinson, nuclear disaster, atomic bomb, Mad, Accident, Miscalculation, New York City, Times Square, Magnolia Pictures, box office, $271.3K, English, smoking, destruction, nuclear attack, nuclear weapons, uranium, plutonium, Stanley Kubrick, Dr Strangelove, security, nuclear cache, nuclear missiles, fear mongering, history, current state, problem-solving, documentary filmmaking, factual, informative, educational
Worldwide gross: NA
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Lucy Walker – Director
Lawrence Bender – Producer
Bruce Blair – Executive Producer
Matt Brown – Executive Producer
Jeff Skoll – Executive Producer
Director(s)
Lucy Walker
Writer(s)
Lucy Walker
Producer(s)
Lawrence Bender
Film Festivals
Cannes
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (87) | Top Critics (40) | Fresh (69) | Rotten (18)
We’ve gone backwards rather than forwards. To watch a film such as this is to shudder all over again.
June 24, 2011 | Rating: 3/5
Derek Malcolm
London Evening Standard
TOP CRITIC
The film’s most sobering fact: any world leader has a maximum of 10 seconds to decide to retaliate in the event of a nuclear attack.
June 24, 2011 | Rating: 3/5
Antonia Quirke
Financial Times
TOP CRITIC
June 24, 2011 | Rating: 2/5
Anthony Quinn
Independent (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Screamingly urgent and contemporary.
June 23, 2011 | Rating: 5/5
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
Countdown to Zero leaves you uneasy enough about the threat from nukes, but also amazed that to date, at least, no blunder has ended in annihilation.
June 23, 2011 | Rating: 4/5
David Gritten
Daily Telegraph (UK)
TOP CRITIC
A worthy, important effort – but not a great one.
June 23, 2011 | Rating: 3/5
Jonathan Crocker
Little White Lies
TOP CRITIC
The scope of Countdown to Zero is as vast as it is frightening.
June 29, 2017
Sr. Rose Pacatte
National Catholic Reporter
Unfortunately Walker’s arguments come wrapped in layers of stars and stripes, with America’s ‘Us .v. Them’ mentality seeping from every shot.
March 14, 2016 | Rating: 2/5
Roe McDermott
Hot Press
A whirlwind tour of human failure …
July 6, 2011 | Rating: 3.5/5
Ed Whitfield
What Culture
Lucy Walker’s chilling documentary serves as a reminder that the threat of a nuclear bomb going off somewhere in the world to devastating effect has not diminished just because it has slipped from the public consciousness.
June 29, 2011 | Rating: 4/5
Amber Wilkinson
Eye for Film
Skilfully crafted and smoothly assembled…
June 26, 2011
Jason Solomons
Observer (UK)
An urgent wake-up call.
June 24, 2011
Jason Best
Movie Talk…
Plot
Countdown to Zero is a documentary that explores the ongoing threat of nuclear disaster, examining the possibility of nuclear calamity under the categories of “Madness,” “Accident” and “Miscalculation,” and includes a hypothetical sequence of a nuclear explosion in New York City’s Times Square.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The film features narration by Gary Oldman.
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